Kingdom of Runes

Chapter 8

As the morning sun arrived, Blue who was doing the last night watch got up from his post to wake everyone. Margot stepped out of the carriage as those who slept outside were gathering all their supplies and studied her map.

"We should be able to make it to Seaside Port Town today," she noted. "Most likely about a few more hours of walking."

"If that's the case then we'll just continue onward on foot," Green said. "The horses need all the strength they can get to make the trip back."

Once everything was packed, they continued traversing through the plains on foot, simply leading the horses on their halters.

As Margot had said, it only took them a little more than two hours for a bustling little town to be in their sights. Once at the entrance of the town, Wolf began removing the halters and placing them inside the carriage.

"Have a safe trip back." she told their equine companions.

"We'll be fine, Miss Wolf." one horse assured her. "The injuries we sustained will likely be completely healed by the time we make it back home thanks to you."

Wolf watched as they turned around and began making their way back to Hyrule Castle. It wasn't until they were almost out of sight and Red reaching out to hold her hand to have Wolf's attention focused on the town at hand.

Trying to figure out where to go next, Margot studied the map again. "So just on the other side of the town is the port where we can get to the ship."

"Let's be on our way then." Zelda said. "If we're lucky, perhaps we can arrive at the castle sooner than we thought."

They begin making their way through the streets. They passed by shops offering a variety of fresh seafoods. They also had passed by what seemed like an inn. Margot wished they had at least some time to take a few pictures.

But now wasn't the time just aimlessly wander around. Their progress was already a little delayed thanks to the attack from that group of bandits. Any other delays and the king and queen might worry.

Eventually the ground beneath them turned from stone to wood, the view of the ocean in their sights. Just besides them, a ship. But before they could make another step closer, a man, presumably the captain of the ship, stepped out of the ship. He took one look at the crowd before sighing and shaking his head.

"Sorry folks but if you're looking for a ride to the rune kingdom then yer outta luck. This old boat's not going anywhere for a while."

"What's wrong with it?" Zelda asked.

The captain gestured over to the hull of the ship. Or at least what should've been the hull. Instead there was a large gaping hole. Almost as if that part of the ship was missing.

"Poor girl's busted." the captain sighed. "She's in no shape to be carrying around folks through the water. Unless you got another way to get to the castle, then yer just gonna have to wait until I can get this fixed."

When Margot took a closer look at the damage, she couldn't help but notice how strange everything seemed. This was far from a ship just wearing down with time and use. No one operating a vehicle such a this wouldn't notice something like this before it got to this point. There had to be some external cause for the ship's current condition.

"Do you know what happened?" she then asked.

The captain sighed and shook his head once more. "No ma'am. I just woke up this morning and saw the gaping hole. No one nearby knows what happened either."

"I guess it can't be helped." Green said. "We're stuck here for the time being."

"If you folks are needing a place to stay then I reckon heading on over to that inn over there." the captain suggested, gesturing over to the inn that they had passed by earlier. "Since many travelers just pass by here, there should be plenty of room."